Deputy Waldrop shares current concerns

Although the streets of Hill City seem quiet, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office senior deputy Jim Waldrop still has concerns for citizens to be aware of. These include reporting thefts, locking cars, not leaving guns in cars and avoiding scams.
Regarding theft reporting, Waldrop said. “We got some reports of thefts being talked about on the local social media.”
Although some of these may have been reported, Waldrop said they were not aware of them. People always have the right to report things on social media, but Waldrop asked that citizens report it to the sheriff’s office as well.
“I think maybe people don’t call us because they don’t think that we can solve it. And that may be true. A lot of them are very hard to solve, but we want to know so we have an awareness, and especially if there’s something that’s a consistent type of theft or there’s a certain way that things are being stolen. We want to start building that pattern,” said Waldrop.
Even if the person reporting a crime does not want to press charges, Waldrop said the deputies still want to know about it because it could be connected to other thefts. They will always try to investigate a case, and often the best investigator is the person who reported it because of the information they have.
Waldrop said reporting a theft can help in the big picture as well by creating awareness. If any patterns arise, Waldrop will get the word out to the chamber, Prevailer and businesses to explain what type of activities are occurring. The Hill City merchants often spread news about what is going on in the area through their own network as well.
“That’s what we want. Awareness is prevention. Then we can spread the word and make everybody else aware,” said Waldrop.
If people do not report thefts because they do not want to make a big deal out of it, Waldrop said they can always create a log of what happened so they have a record of the event and the basic details.
“We can always do what’s called logging it if you don’t want to open a formal investigation,” said Waldrop.
Other times, Waldrop said people do not call because they do not want someone coming from Rapid City. They want to talk to a local deputy like Waldrop, deputy Keith Fenner or deputy Doug Kimball.
For anything non-emergent, Waldrop said people can call dispatch at 605-394-2151 and ask for a local deputy.
“Dispatch will send it right to us if one of us are working, and if that’s not the case, just simply ask dispatch to send us an email so we can follow up with you,” said Waldrop.
Depending on the person’s preference, Waldrop said the deputies can meet face-to-face, talk over the phone or email.
“We’ll just give them a call as soon as we can, get the details, get their basic information. It’ll be in a call log in our system that doesn’t start an actual formal investigation,” said Waldrop.
The risk of unlocked cars being stolen is another concern.
“That’s a huge one, especially when it’s really not that cold. Any car left running is definitely suspect. And what I can tell you, in Rapid City unfortunately the people that want to steal those cars, they’ve keyed in on prime opportunities,” said Waldrop.
These opportunities include times when people pull into a store or gas station to grab something quick and leave their car running or unlocked.
“I extremely discourage that,” said Waldrop. “We did have one stolen from here, and it ended up in a very problematic area in Rapid City.”
Before Thanksgiving, the car was stolen from the Pennington County Housing Complex off Hill City Main Street by the stoplight. Waldrop said it was a crime of opportunity. Some guys were hanging around and noticed a vehicle was unlocked with the keys left inside.
“That just essentially made it too easy. It could have been a one-off, but it’s not very likely that if you accidentally forget your keys in your car and don’t lock it one time that somebody’s just going to come along that would steal cars and find it. It’s more likely that you consistently do stuff like that and in a place where it’s at access to a lot of people you don’t know. Somebody starts to notice that,” said Waldrop.
Although Waldrop has not seen a pattern of this in Hill City, he said that incident was “a big red flag” because it shows there are people willing to steal a car in town.
“If they’re hanging out there, then they’re going to be hanging out at our gas stations or any of our public areas,” said Waldrop. This could include places like Krull’s Market, Dollar General, Subway or other places around town as well.
Waldrop said he did not want to alarm people, but “That is a good reminder that people that are willing to steal cars will come to Hill City.”
Car thefts lead to more crime and enable people to commit crimes. Oftentimes, cars also change hands, so the person found with it may not be the person who took it. In Waldrop’s experience, stolen cars either get used quickly before being ditched or change hands quite a bit.
“They know we’re going to be looking for it, so they are going to basically go use it to do more crime. It’s more than just your car getting stolen, is what I’m trying to say. The bigger picture is it has a domino effect,” said Waldrop.
Waldrop said the best way to eliminate the risk of car thefts is to leave cars locked. If a car cannot be locked while left idling, he recommended shutting it off.
“You just leave it running ‘cause you’re just going to run inside real quick. So it’s not going to cool off. So by shutting it off and locking it, you’re not going to be coming back out to an ice-cold car even if it’s super cold. And if you’re going to be there for any length of time, then you need another plan. You really don’t want it sitting out there idling empty for an hour. That’s never a good idea,” said Waldrop.
According to Waldrop, people attempt to get into unlocked cars in Rapid City every night.
“If it’s unlocked, they’re going to open it. They’re going to get whatever they think is valuable quick, and they’re moving right on,” said Waldrop.
If a car is stolen, Waldrop said, “They absolutely need to get a hold of us.”
For car thefts witnessed or in progress, Waldrop said to call 911. For car thefts that occur overnight, Waldrop said to call the non-emergency dispatch number.
Guns left inside cars increase the problem because stolen guns lead to much more serious crimes, Waldrop said.
“The number one problem that we have that leads to real serious crimes is still guns. You’ve got to secure your guns. Do not leave them in your car. Do not even leave guns in locked cars,” said Waldrop. “If the wrong person knows there’s a gun in a car, that’s one of the times they will actually break into a locked car.”
Along with this, Waldrop said it is better not to raise awareness about what type of guns you own on social media.
“The more you publicize what you have, the more you’re opening that up for anybody who wants to see and potentially making yourself a target,” said Waldrop.
Another risk for Hill City residents is scam calls, which seniors are especially susceptible to.
Waldrop said, “If there’s anything that I think we are extremely susceptible to in this community to, it’s the scams.”
Waldrop encouraged people not to pay for anything with gift cards and to verify details.
“Anytime somebody’s trying to collect something, it’s never so urgent, despite what they say, that you cannot hang up and verify,” said Waldrop. “If it seems like an emergency, you’re not going to solve it by giving them money right there over the phone. I can assure you of that.”
In other news, Waldrop said the new signage with flashing lights around the school zone has been working well. The flashing lights make the area more noticeable and are helping with awareness.
Before, the old signs said “when children are present.” However, from the top of the hill, drivers could not see children and would not always slow down.
“Since we changed that signage, I haven’t had anybody argue with me or debate with me that they were in the school zone and were okay doing the speed they were doing. So that’s really good,” said Waldrop.
Now, Waldrop said things are cut and dry, and cars are often being stopped before they reach Hill City Elementary School.
“To me, that’s much better. That’s a much better signage and system for awareness,” said Waldrop.